Motherhood ‘miracle’

Annette Fisicaro and her partner Paul Norris refer to their daughter Poppy as their ‘‘little miracle’’.

To have spent her first Mother’s Day with the 5 month-old on Sunday was an experience Miss Fisicaro never thought she would be able to have.

The 41 year-old had spent most of her life believing her chances of getting pregnant were near impossible, after she was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries when she was just 18 years-old.

That’s why the discovery she was pregnant, made more than half way through the nine month term, came as such a shock to her last year.

‘‘I was told back then (when I was 18) it would be quite difficult to get pregnant, and I would more than likely need some help such as IVF. When you are 18 you just think ‘oh, ok’ and life went on,’’ Miss Fisicaro said.

‘‘I have been an early childhood educator since I started at around the age of 18, and I have looked after thousands of children over the years in my career.

‘‘I just accepted it (pregnancy for me) wasn’t going to happen, and dedicated my life to my work and the kids I looked after.’’

Miss Fisicaro was 24 weeks along when her pregnancy was confirmed, while seeking treatment for a medical complaint.

‘‘I had been feeling different and started getting symptoms so I went to the doctor on a Friday with all of these things that were happening and was getting sent off for blood tests, x-rays and scans and things.

‘‘Pregnancy was not even discussed because it was never, in my eyes, an option.

‘‘Then I went to the chemist to get some scripts filled and, still to this day, I don’t know what made me pick up a home test. But I went home and did that three times, and they all came back positive.

‘‘I needed to find out what was going on so I made a doctor’s appointment for that Monday. I went back and told her I am supposed to be starting certain medication but I have done three home tests and they say I’m pregnant.

‘‘She just looked at me and said ‘well you are pregnant’ and I just thought ‘I can’t be’. So I was in disbelief for a while.

‘‘After I told my partner, who was shocked, we got sent to ultrasound straightaway that day and thank goodness it was a friend that was the radiographer.

‘‘I was telling her about what was going on and what the doctor thinks and she just said ‘can you hear that?’. I’m like, ‘hear what?’, and she said ‘that’s a heartbeat’.’’

Miss Fisicaro admits she began to panic when she found out just how far along in the pregnancy she was at this stage.

‘‘Once it sunk in I went into panic mode because I did everything you’re not supposed to do as a pregnant person,’’ she said.

‘‘I had been to Bali two months prior, I had eaten salami and soft cheese and had some wine, and I started to panic because I thought what if something is wrong?

‘‘I knew I was classed as high risk because of my age and also because I missed all of the tests you are supposed to have in the first couple of trimesters, but then I started having the blood tests, seeing the doctors, having the ultrasounds and everything just ticked every box. Everything was looking well and healthy and I had a dream pregnancy with no complications or issues.

‘‘I am just such a big believer in faith and I just think it was meant to be, and whatever happens is going to happen.

‘‘I now wake up every day and think ‘oh my god, I have a baby’ and I just look at her and I think ‘is she really mine?’.

‘‘I don’t have to give her back at the end of the day, and we can’t imagine life without her now.’’